MN Sporter
Clean, disassemble, and inspect

MNs usually come caked with dried grease / cosmoline. Use some old rags to wipe away what you can.

Remove the bolt, by opening it and depressing the trigger, then slide it out the rear. Put the bolt in some Ed's red to soak. (to disassemble the bolt, click here)

Remove the bayonet, by holding back the spring loaded collar and taking out the retaining screw.

Remove the hand guards by depressing the retaining springs and sliding the metal bands forward. A small block of wood to tap with may be helpful.

Remove the two screws holding on the steel butt plate.

Remove the two screws that sandwich the stock between the receiver and magazine unit. One screw is on the top at the rear of the receiver, the other is on the bottom at the front of the magazine unit. Ease the components apart.

Use a solvent such as Ed's red or spray carburetor cleaner to scrub everything clean, including the wood and the bolt. A stiff bristle brush is a big help for getting the muck out of the nooks and crannies.

Clean the bore as you normally would.

Visually inspect all parts for breakage or excessive wear.

Put the bolt back in the receiver and check your head space. Either take it to a competent gunsmith who will do it for a few bucks, or you can do it yourself with a "no go" gauge from Brownell's. or ease of use, I notched my gauge to clear the extractor so I do not have to remove it. (see pic) Just set the gauge on the bolt face and gently try to close the bolt. If it closes, you need to find a link to the Mosin Nagant lamp project because the rifle is unsafe for normal use. If the bolt does not close, you head space is OK. NOTE: There are "methods" of testing head space with a long string and reading the cases if the gun doesn't blow up, but I can not recommend them.

At this point you can reassemble your rifle and test fire, as long as you do not have a cracked stock. If you test fire with corrosive ammo, clean as soon as possible, using Windex on the bore, chamber, and bolt face. Then dry and clean as you normally would.

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